A Year's Difference

We did some afternoon shopping today at Sam's Club and we were pleasantly surprised to see the Easter Bunny! I just had to share and compare today's picture (above) from last year's encounter (below). 

Look who likes the big, fluffy bunny now! 

Youngest Kiwanian!

Yesterday morning during my Citrus Center Kiwanis meeting, Skyler was officially inducted as a Junior Member. The Princess was super excited when President Dave honored Sky with her own name tag that was adorned with pink lace and pearls.

It's evident that you're never to young to be apart of a Kiwanis Family or to volunteer in your community. Skyler has been attending Kiwanis meetings with me since she was just four weeks of age! In fact, she always sat at the welcome table, helping me sign in members and sell 50/50 tickets.

Skyler truly enjoys being apart of Citrus Center and can even sing the Kiwanis song word for word. The members adore her and gave her a standing ovation after the special ceremony. Kiwanis will help provide Sky opportunities to work on service projects, develop leadership potential and create strong moral character.

Enjoy this next picture of my Sweetie when she was only 3 months old sitting at the welcome table during a Kiwanis meeting...

Back To The Groove

Since returning home from the farm, Skyler has found her groove in school and church. We've worked on a few projects, starting with Cubbies last week. Her teacher asked each student to create their own Potato Head (using a real potato) and bring it to class. We used some facial expressions from her kit and Sky insisted on making a birthday 'potato' girl.  

It was a fun afternoon. Earlier in the week, we studied Psalm 31:14...I trust in You, O Lord... Skyler should be receiving another patch for her vest shortly. She continues to thrive in her bible studies, while learning her verses each week. We are blessed to have a daughter who enjoys learning, especially about Jesus! 

Skyler continues to go to Kiwanis with me on Thursday mornings. She's so good at getting up at 5:45AM. In fact tomorrow morning, the club will be having a special ceremony inducting and honoring Sky as a Junior Member. 

My club President came up with the idea and since I'm in charge of name tags, I had to get it ready and added a little flair to it, as requested! I used pink lace and jewels. Promise to share the exciting event with you all in the next few days. Here's a picture of the Princess at last week's Kiwanis meeting. Yes, during that hour, she does sit still, stays quiet and colors while the guest speaker talks.

Speaking of coloring, it's been on the top of our activity list lately. Sky does such a wonderful job staying close to the lines and is quite proud of her artistic skills, as am I! 

 Busy at work....

Together Again!

After an early morning Thursday flight (Mar 14th), I arrived safely into Chattanooga and was warmly greeted by my sister Cheryl and Charles.  

Within 35 minutes, we pulled into C+C Farms and I was anxious to hug my Princess and her Gammey! 

It was a chilly 30 degrees, but Skyler's hugs and kisses quickly warmed me up!

Of course, she wasted no time taking me down to the barn to introduce me to her baby goats, Ringo and Redough.

Her kids.....

We enjoyed the morning with all the farm animals. I found it amazing that Skyler could remember and recite each animal's name. I had fun getting reacquainted with all her four legged buddies, starting with Thelma and Louise!

 Hello Brutus...

Skyler's favorite farm friend, sweet Mousse...

and his kisses...

 Princess the pretty horse....

And a trip to the chicken pen to check on tomorrow's breakfast....eggs!

After a quick clean up, we drove into town and started our afternoon by visiting Paint The Town to pick up the spoon rest that Sky made me. 

 Masterpiece below...

Then we stopped into the Cleveland Bradley County library for books and such.

                                                     

Our appetites were in full gear, so Auntie Cheryl treated us all to a wonderful dinner to my favorite evening restaurant, Cafe Roma.

We all enjoyed the evening special, pesce del giorn. It was a delicious portion of salmon served over spinach  pecan cream sauce with herb roasted potatoes and pancetta brussel sprouts.

 Yummy!

After dinner we shared a generous portion of creme brulee that Skyler devoured and she then shared much love with her Gammey. 

 We headed home to check on all the animals and collect some fresh eggs for our morning breakfast.

Sky loves helping Auntie Chez clean and dry each egg after her trip to the hen house.

Come Friday morning, we were ready to venture into downtown Chattanooga to spend the day at the Tennessee Aquarium.

After a quick goodbye kiss to Georgie the cat, we were all buckled up and excited to visit one of the Nation's top attractions!

 Let the fun begin....

The Tennessee Aquarium is home to a richly diverse living collection of the world's most fascinating animals. We toured both buildings, The River Journey and then the Ocean Journey.

We began our travels to a tropical paradise inside the Aquarium's Butterfly Garden. Sky was surrounded by hundreds of strikingly beautiful butterflies. The Princess adored these winged jewels!

Next was a visit to the Penguins' Rock exhibit to watch the curious and animated Gentoos. We shared many laughs as these pleasantly plumped birds put on a great entertaining show.  

 Check out this Penguin interacting with Skyler.

We then  came face to face with big, toothy sharks, colorful reef fish, graceful rays and even some porcupine fish. This saltwater attraction had Skyler's attention the entire way!

 Shark tank display....

Another favorite was seeing Nemo, the clown fish and his pal Dory.  

These next pictures just don't do the invertebrates justice. Sky sure liked these boneless beauties.

Here she is with the giant Japanese giant spider crab. This was a cool exhibit as it had a tunnel entrance into the tank for children to get up close and personal. 

 How neat is this.....Check out her smile!

We viewed many reptiles, plants, amphibians and other birds. It was the best aquarium attraction I have ever visited! 

Of course our trip to Chattanooga would never be complete without a late lunch to Big River Grill. Skyler always likes to visit the outdoor brick boat and even had Gammey rowing.

It's just tradition to enjoy a pint, brewed fresh on site! The atmosphere is so inviting and the food is delicious. With these combined elements and sharing it with family, makes the dining experience grand. 

After lunch, we did a little shopping. While everyone walked the aisles full of merchandise, the Princess relaxed in this much desired chair. I'm certain if I could have got it in on the plane, Auntie Chez would have quickly purchased it for her darling niece! 

It was a great Friday and we just relaxed once we made it home. Of course, Sky spent her time at the barn visiting her furry friends!

 Scout...

 Mousse is Skyler's #1 fan and boy does he follow her around. He even likes toting our Sweetie around! 

Skyler spent her entire evening exploring the farm and certainly needed a bath before bedtime!

We decided to spend Saturday in town. Our first stop was a visit to Papa's tree. My-oh-my, has it grown. I can't wait to visit in a few months when the leaves will be flourishing.

Skyler loved that Papa's tree and his stone marker was surrounded by purple flowers. Beautiful, indeed! Some pictures for your enjoyment....

Stop #2 was to visit Miss Barbara and her Paint The Town store. Our little artist quickly got to work one another masterpiece.

I thought it was adorable when we walked in, everyone turned around and said, "Hi Skyler!" Auntie Cheryl has made Sky quite the celebrity. Here's Skyler with the store owner, Miss Barbara.

 Before....

 After...

More shopping as you can tell by the new purchase from Auntie Cheryl.

Although it was not raining, our Diva insisted of keeping the sun of her head! 

 She even wanted to shield Mousse once we finished lunch at Jenkins...  

 More farm fun ahead....

It was our last evening on the farm, so Auntie Cheryl prepared a fabulous fish fry. Skyler took advantage of her final hours and played & cuddled with Gammey before our morning departure.

After her final goodbye kiss to Georgie, we loaded the car and headed to the airport for our early morning flight.

We waited a few minutes before heading to the gate and Sky had fun trying to turn her rolling luggage into a back pack. It was just too difficult for her to stand up and we all shared some laughs over it.

 Off to the security check point after sharing tons of goodbye hugs and kisses.

And a final wave before boarding....

 Another plane ride in the books for our Princess.

 Taking off.....

 Coloring as we cruise through the clouds...

Our plane landed on time and Daddy was excited to meet us at the St Petersburg airport. Skyler ran into his arms and was sure happy to him after being gone for ten days.

 Daddy had a surprise waiting for us both in the truck...Laney!!!

 My girls are together again

What a wonderful four day weekend! Skyler certainly enjoyed her ten days in Tennessee and has already started asking when we are returning to the farm. It made me happy to inform her that our plane tickets were already purchased for our annual girl trip in May! May 9th to be exact!!

Today, the 24th of March, marks my Parents 51st Anniversary. Although my Daddy is no longer with us, I know he is sharing the day with my Mum, because TRUE LOVE is FOREVER!